What happened was that students in the dorm accused Kinyua of breaking a window, and a resident adviser said Kinyua would not sign a discipline slip. The adviser called police, saying he feared going into Kinyua's room at the campus apartment building because he was known to carry a machete.

Police searched Kinyua and the apartment but reported finding no machete. Weeks later, Kinyua was charged with dismembering his housemate,Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, in the family home in Harford County, and eating his heart and part of his brain.

The call about the machete was the latest in a string of violent and bizarre incidents in the months leading up to the attack, leading critics to question whether warning signs were missed. Here is a timeline:

Dec. 10 — Kinyua accused of punching seven holes in a wall of a campus ROTC office, and destroying a picture frame. A military instructor told police that the suspect was an “unusually angry person” and said he was “a Virginia Tech waiting to happen.” Kinyua barred from campus pending a judicial review.

Jan. 31 — Kinyua talks about human sacrifice at an anti-hazing forum attended by students and top university officials, including the judicial officer who according to police was to handle the ROTC incident a month earlier. The judicial officer would not comment about what action, if any, he took.

May 4 — Kinyua is accused of breaking a window in the dorm after he says someone spiked his drink. He refuses to sign citation and resident adviser calls police, telling them he doesn’t want to go into Kinyua’s room because he’s known to carry a machete around campus. Police search the room but find no machete.

May 19 — Police arrest and charge Kinyua with first-degree assault after authorities said he randomly attacked a classmate, hitting him over the head with a baseball bat wrapped in chains. The victim said his friends saw Kinyua standing over his unconscious body holding a knife and pushed him out of the way. He believes he was about to be carved open.

May 23 — Kinyua released on $220,000 bail after parents make a public plea for help raising money.

May 25 — Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, 37, reported missing

May 30 — Suspect’s brothers finds hands, head in tin boxes in basement of home in Harford County. Father calls police, and they find remains in home and in trash bin at nearby church. Kinyua charged with first-degree murder